I'll See You Again
by FoldedHands
Summary: A short KyoSaya fic set after the end of the series that follows the progression of their relationship from bitter enemies to lovers. Rated Teen for violence and some possible suggestive themes.
1. Prelude

It was late. The days of fighting had left her drained, but sleep didn't come easily. She was confident in her abilities, but it was only a matter of time before she slipped up and fell in battle. Or overexerted herself and disappeared like some of the others…

She lived by the day, knowing that each one might be her last. Tomorrow was never a certainty for them. She learned to take what she wanted, when she wanted it, and not waste time worrying about consequences.

She would be hunting again soon, putting her life on the line again and again, a battle that never ended. But that wasn't now. Now belonged to the soft beauty in her arms, wrapped around her and sleeping more peacefully than she was able to. All that mattered now was staying as close to her as she could, for as long as she could. As the sleeping girl's arms unconsciously sought her out and pulled her closer, her mouth twitched in a toothy, sardonic smile.

_My Sayaka…_

A/N: This extremely brief prelude is the first part of a three chapter story (no, this isn't one of the chapters). I'm saying this up front, this story is going to be pretty minimalistic. If it seems like the character development is moving too quickly and I'm skipping through days/weeks of interactions between the characters, it's intentional. I didn't want to write a long, drawn out story that slowly builds up their relationship, I wanted to write a short piece that was low on dialogue, heavier on narration and only touched on the most important points. I guess we'll see how well that works. The first chapter is already done, so I'll upload it soon.

I'm going to stop talking now before this author note turns out to be longer than the prelude itself.


	2. Chapter 1: Rivalry

Kyoko bit into the taiyaki as if she hadn't eaten in a week. From her vantage point, she could see the whole battlefield and its participants with ease. The rookie was doing better than Kyoko would have thought, but she was overwhelmed. She knew how this would end. She'd seen it half a dozen times. When the rookie was dead, she'd step in and finish the demons.

'There it is.' The girl had been too slow and been dealt a vicious blow. Kyoko almost winced in sympathy as the blue haired Magical Girl flew fifteen feet, bounced off the blacktop and hit the wall hard enough to crack a few square feet of bricks. If she wasn't dead yet, she would be in moments—the demons were closing in.

Kyoko cracked her neck and spun her spear in one hand, eager to get started, but nearly choked on the stick of pocky she'd started when the blue haired girl pushed herself shakily to her feet. Blood was matting her hair and running down her face, and one of her arms was obviously shattered. From the way she hunched and struggled to breathe, Kyoko suspected broken ribs as well, possibly sticking into a lung. Yet the girl didn't hesitate to charge the nearest demon, becoming steadier on her feet with every step she took. Kyoko whistled, impressed, and leaned back to watch. She was suddenly curious about how this fight would turn out…

* * *

Sayaka collapsed against a garbage bin. Her breathing came harsh and ragged with a curious crackling noise; she wondered if she had a punctured lung. It didn't hurt much anymore.

It was hard to see the demon through the blood that was running into her eyes. For its part, the demon was leaking black blood even faster than she was, dragging itself towards her with its one remaining arm, its garb that so resembled a toga in tatters. If it wasn't using magic to finish her, it must be in as bad a shape as she was. The thought didn't bring much comfort. Sayaka gritted her teeth and tried her hardest to raise her sword, but she couldn't do much more than lift it off the ground. She wondered vaguely where Mami was; she shouldn't have fought this many without the veteran's backup. Hell, she would even be happy to see Homura.

It was almost upon her, now, and she didn't have a hope of defending herself. The demon reached towards her, black blood spattering her face as…what? Sayaka blinked the blood out of her eyes and tried to get a grip on the scene before her. A gleaming, brass colored spear lay between the demon and its arm. The monstrosity let out a mournful groan an instant before the spear flashed through its neck.

Who…?

The demon's body dissolved, leaving behind a handful of tiny black cubes; the red Magical Girl stooped and swept them neatly into her pocket. She turned to Sayaka with a strange smirk on her face.

"Not bad, kid. You did better than I expected you to."

Sayaka felt a surge of indignation blot out her confusion. "You were…there…the whole time?" she gasped.

The redhead grinned, a prominent pair of canines shining in the moonlight. "Yeah. I decided to stay out of it, but I gotta admit, you impressed me."

Blistering anger spread through Sayaka's gut. She had nearly died, her body was in _tatters_, and this girl had only intervened at the very end. And now she was stealing the Grief Seeds—for, indeed, the girl was picking up the remains of the other demons and dumping them into her pocket. Sayaka had never felt such concentrated loathing before in her life. She wanted to kill her, but she couldn't even move. Despite the girl's last minute save, it looked like she might die anyway. She rolled her head enough to look at her Soul Gem. She had used up too much magic just staying alive; it was almost completely dark.

Four Grief Seeds clattered off the blacktop next to Sayaka. She stared blankly at them for a moment, dumbfounded, then scooped them up as quickly as her wrecked body would allow and laid them on her belly. Dark, smoke-like essence trickled out of her Gem and into the cubes. As her Gem was cleansed, its magic began to knit her flesh back together. She groaned as bones shifted back into proper positions. As the pain and haze began to clear, so did her mind…and anger burned hotter than ever.

"I nearly died, and you could have helped me the whole time!"

There was that infuriating smirk again. She wanted to strangle the life out of the girl. "But I did help, and you didn't die. Chalk it up as a learning experience. Maybe next time you won't be so quick to take on a pack of demons."

Sayaka thrust her hand towards her, palm up. "Give back those Grief Seeds," she snarled.

The girl narrowed her eyes, for the first time exuding some sense of hostility. "I gave you your share, and you're lucky to get any at all. If you died, I wouldn't have to split the loot with anyone." She turned to leave, her abrupt dismissiveness of Sayaka a slap in the face. "I'll won't bother, next time."

She bounded onto a fire escape and pushed off of it to spring to a low roof. Before she disappeared into the night, she turned back to Sayaka, twenty feet below her and still barely able to stand, much less give chase.

"By the way…name's Kyoko. See ya around, _kid_."

* * *

Kyoko was already regretting her choice to save the runt. She had thrown away good Grief Seeds! What was wrong with her? Sure, she'd made off with the better part of the hoard, but she could have had all of it _and_ not have to worry about some punk coming for her later on.

She had been impressed, she grudgingly admitted to herself. Seeing that kid get back up after taking a hit like that and then proceeding to kill all but one of the demons (and even that was a close one) had fostered a small amount of respect in the redheaded Magical Girl. There was something, too, about her savage ferocity in combat that Kyoko found admirable; here was another girl that didn't hold back, didn't worry about her safety, just plunged into the fray with all the strength she could muster.

But if she came after Kyoko, looking for revenge or whatever, she knew she could handle her. She'd been doing this for years. The rookie couldn't have been a Magical Girl for more than a couple of months.

She shrugged off the incident and went off in search of something to eat. Fighting always gave her an appetite, even if she'd spent most of it watching.

* * *

There she was again, getting herself in over her head. She was doing a little better this time around, at least. Kyoko pulled another takoyaki off of the skewer with her teeth and watched the blue haired girl get smacked halfway down the alley, but found herself grinning when she rolled to her feet and charged back into the fray. She rolled her shoulders, working out some kinks in her neck, and took a step forward, off the edge of the building. Kyoko landed on the fire escape's railing several floors below and bounded off it, sailing high through the air to come down spear-first on one of the demons below. The force of the blow drove the creature to the ground and she finished it with a quick jab.

The redhead crouched into a defensive stance as one of the massive white figures moved towards her, but something silver flashed past her and sank into the creature. Five swords were sticking out of its chest, splayed in a pattern that suggested they had barely missed her. Before she could even open her mouth to yell at the idiot, a white and blue blur leaped over her and beheaded the wounded demon in one stroke.

It was all over in three minutes. Kyoko flexed her arm to try to get some feeling back into it as an ugly bruise spread across half of it. The rookie was holding a hand to her side, blood seeping out from between her fingers but rapidly coming to a halt. With the immediate threat dealt with, Kyoko could now round on the other girl.

"What the hell was that, you idiot? Ya could'a killed me!"

The blue haired girl glared at her for a moment, then smirked in an infuriatingly smug way. "But I didn't kill you. Chalk it up as a learning experience."

Kyoko's expression darkened for a second, then broke as she burst into laughter. The knight wannabe seemed taken aback by this mood swing. "All right, all right…not bad, kid." Her grin gained a touch of the feral in it as she leaned on her spear. "Don't do it again."

"Sayaka," she grumbled in response.

"Come again?"

"My name is Sayaka. Stop calling me 'kid.'"

Kyoko snorted. "Whatever." She pushed herself upright and headed towards the fallen Grief Seeds. "You take the Seeds from the demons you killed, I take the ones that I killed. Fair?" When Sayaka nodded coolly, Kyoko added, "And you owe me four."

* * *

Sayaka sat quietly on the edge of the rooftop as Kyoko rambled on about this and that, everything from fights she'd survived years ago to her favorite video games. The blue haired girl didn't feel much need to chip in, but she listened attentively all the same as she ate the food that Kyoko was sharing with her. That night's hunt had gone well; they worked together smoothly, attacking in sync and covering each other's backs when the fight started getting dangerous. Sayaka had stopped feeling irritated by Kyoko's intrusion several hunts previous, though she was still somewhat baffled by the redhead's presence.

For her part, Kyoko wasn't entirely sure why she kept seeking out the white knight to fight alongside her. The fights got easier and easier, but she still lost out on Grief Seeds when it was over. They had formed some sort of unspoken agreement to hunt together—not always, but sometimes Kyoko would pop up when Sayaka was heading towards a disturbance, and sometimes Sayaka would drop in when Kyoko was in the middle of a pitched battle.

When had they started hanging out outside of hunts?

* * *

A/N: Well, here it is, chapter one, delivered in a timely manner for once. Let me know what you think and if there are any improvements that could be made. I already have chapter two mostly finished, but I can make alterations if there's good reason to. Also, I didn't and am not going to include detailed fight scenes with demons because I honestly have no idea how those things fight, even after trying to research it online, and I don't want to put anything definitive down when I don't know what I'm talking about.


	3. Chapter 2: Jealousy

It was already half past four. She was going to be late if she didn't hurry.

Sayaka's mouth twitched in a half-smile as she headed to the mall to meet Kyoko again. Hitomi had started withdrawing from her a bit, probably busy with some school club or other, so Sayaka had more free time by herself that she had started to fill by hanging out with Kyoko. Despite how often they fought—and, even now, they fought quite a bit—Sayaka had started to find that she enjoyed the redhead's company.

Their last argument had been a fierce one. It started innocently enough with Sayaka mentioning how good she felt now that she was fighting to protect the city. Kyoko had laughed at her and mocked her "white knight" mentality. She had shot back with some comment about Kyoko's selfishness, and what had been a fun afternoon had turned into a wildfire shouting match. In public, no less. It was fortunate that they had both had the presence of mind, even while screaming at the top of their lungs, to avoid mentioning anything to do with demons or magical girls.

That was nearly two weeks ago, and this was the first time that Kyoko had asked to hang out with her since then. It had taken a few days for Sayaka's anger to cool, but once she had calmed down she found that she missed the older girl's presence.

Kyoko grinned when she saw the rookie Magical Girl weaving towards her through the crowded street. She would never apologize for the things she had said and would never admit (even to herself) that she might be wrong, but she did notice how good it felt to see Sayaka again after being alone for two weeks. She jerked her head towards the mall's entrance and ambled in with her friend at her elbow, even offering her a stick of pocky as they walked.

It was a whole week before they were at it again.

* * *

They were fighting again, and she had been trying so hard to steer away from this briar patch, but Sayaka just wouldn't shut up about joining her, Mami and Homura to form some stupid Magical Girl Super Justice Team or whatever. Another perfectly good afternoon at the arcade had been ruined now because Sayaka didn't know when to keep her mouth shut and let something go. At least the noise from the arcade was drowning out enough of their conversation that they didn't have to worry about onlookers…though if Sayaka kept it up, they might break through the noise generated by the video games.

"You don't have a problem with hunting with me. You never let the number of Grief Seeds you'd get stop you from tagging along whenever I was going hunting!"

Kyoko's hackles rose a little higher. She stepped closer to her junior and poked her in the chest for emphasis. "_You_, I can handle. _You're_ easier to be around. Sometimes, you're even _fun_, when you're not being a stuck-up bitch. But those two have the personalities of a brick and a block'a Styrofoam." So much for trying to prevent this from getting worse. Whatever. She wasn't a peacemaker; she was a scrapper. If Sayaka wanted to go to the ring over this, she'd be happy to meet her.

Sayaka's already angry expression deepened into fury, and Kyoko couldn't help but smirk at the effect her words had had on the little upstart. An instant later, she felt a pang deep inside her chest for taking what she knew to be a genuinely friendly gesture and throwing it back in Sayaka's face. She was _not_ going to apologize (why should she? She hadn't done anything wrong, it was Sayaka's fault, really), but she didn't want this situation to escalate any further. Kyoko remembered, with more than a little discomfort, how lonely she had been during the two weeks when they hadn't talked.

She softened her voice a bit and asked, "Why do _you_ spend your time with them? You're not one of them; you're like me."

Sayaka's scowl turned into a questioning frown. "What do you mean?"

Kyoko shook her head. "Akemi has been doing this too long. Just look in her eyes-she's dead inside. Tomoe has lost touch with reality. She's got enough sense to know how dangerous this life is, but she lives in her own fantasy world where being a Magical Girl is a call from God or somethin', meant to serve a higher purpose." She poked Sayaka again, but not as forcefully. "You got your head full'a nonsense about justice and protecting the weak, but you don't let it take you outta the real world, and you enjoy a fight as much as I do." Kyoko grinned, and saw the corner of Sayaka's mouth twitch just a little. "First time I saw you, I was impressed by how vicious you are in a fight. You give it your all, same as me, and fuck the consequences."

"...You've only met them _once._"

Kyoko snorted. "Those two are open books. Took me two minutes to see all of that in them." Well, that wasn't entirely true. Tomoe was an easy read, but that Akemi girl...Kyoko meant what she had said about her, but beyond the obvious apathy coloring Akemi's entire personality, she couldn't figure out anything about her.

The blue haired girl sighed wearily, kneading her forehead with her palm. "But we could do so much more together. You don't have to like them-just help us fight demons."

She really wasn't ever going to get the hint, was she? Fortunately, Kyoko had thought of a way to shut her up for good. "If you want me to join you on some fruity crusade, you'll have to make me."

Sayaka glared at her. "Are you really looking for a fight? Because I don't-"

"Well, that sounds like it might be fun, but I got a better idea." The self-satisfied grin returned to her face as she jerked her head to the DDR arcade platforms. "If you can beat me, I'll join you and those tight-asses for _one_ hunt. If I win, you have to shut up about this for good."

The irritation ebbed just a little from Sayaka's eyes as she considered Kyoko's offer. The redhead could tell she was interested.

"…Deal."

* * *

Kyoko was still muttering curses under her breath when they went to meet Mami and Homura. It hadn't even been _close_; Sayaka had utterly thrashed her at one of her favorite games. What had seemed like a surefire way to get the two of them past their dispute had turned into a huge headache for the redhead.

She had considered reneging on the deal, but she really didn't want to sever ties with Sayaka, who, she grudgingly admitted, was her only real friend. So she went to the prearranged meeting spot, listened to the others talk of strategy and of sharing Grief Seeds and whatever else they were expected to do as a team. She noticed that Homura spoke almost as little as she did, but Mami and Sayaka more than made up for it.

After fifteen minutes of listening to drivel, Kyoko spoke up to make it clear that if she was going to hunt with them, it would only be to go after a big target. There was no point in more than one of them taking on weak or individual demons. She was secretly relieved when Sayaka didn't contradict her by pointing out that the two of them had been doing just that for weeks. The others quickly agreed to her terms and promised to relay a message to her through Sayaka if they found a demon powerful enough to warrant the combined might of all four of them.

Kyoko could hardly contain her excitement.

* * *

Sayaka sat on a bench in the park, staring glumly at the Soul Gem that sat in her palm. It was so pretty, only slightly marred by black smudges near the bottom of the jewel.

She was trying to grasp the concept that that little gem was _her_.

Her thoughts turned to Kyosuke and she felt a lurch in her gut. She couldn't be with him. She couldn't ever spend her life with him, get married, see any of her fantasies play out in real life, because she was a monster. She wasn't human anymore—she wasn't even _alive_. And every day might bring death. The demons seemed to be getting stronger and more plentiful, lately. How could she have a romantic relationship with anyone when she was constantly putting her life on the line and couldn't ever tell them? All it would take was a slip, a too-slow reaction, and she would be gone and they would never know what had happened to her. It had almost happened several times already. She understood now, more than ever before, why Mami had said that the life of a Magical Girl was a lonely one.

A shadow fell over her and the bench creaked under the weight of someone else. It was her. The girl that had never loved anyone, knew only selfishness. One of her only friends, and one of the last people she wanted to talk to now. She didn't want to hear Kyoko's smug, self-righteous assertion that she had been right all along, that Sayaka had been stupid for thinking that she could live for others.

And she didn't hear it. She didn't hear anything from the older girl. Instead, there was a pressure on Sayaka's shoulders that took three full seconds for her to recognize as a one-armed hug. She stared at Kyoko, dumbfounded and just a little flustered.

The simple but intimate act had startled Sayaka out of her reverie. Kyoko felt warm…comforting. Dimly, as if her mind formed the thought through a haze, she mused that this was how she had imagined a hug from Kyosuke would feel. Her mind was too scattered to wonder about the implications of that, either for herself or Kyoko.

The redhead squeezed her for another moment, then pulled back, expression completely impassive, as if nothing had happened. Kyoko eyed Sayaka's face for a moment. "What?"

Sayaka opened her mouth to ask what the hell _that_ was, but found that she didn't really want to start a conversation now. She was suddenly aware of the tears that had been gathering in her eyes since before Kyoko had joined her and hurriedly looked away, trying to discreetly dry her eyes and knowing that she was failing. When she could finally turn back to Kyoko, she took the bag of chips that Kyoko was offering her and gave her a sort of half-smile, half-grimace. Kyoko snorted and leaned back on the bench, hands laced behind her head as she stared at the sky and sucked on a jawbreaker.

* * *

She had taken in the whole scene from a safe position, hidden in the upper branches of a tree, watching Sayaka as she watched her boy crush. Now the imbecile was alone in the park, sulking, staring at her Soul Gem like it was the source of all of her troubles. Twit. If she wanted the violin boy, she should just take him instead of falling over herself with indecision.

At this thought, Kyoko felt a hot, sick feeling in her gut, something that urged her to track down the little girly boy and crack his head. Kyoko rolled her shoulders in uncomfortable agitation. Where had that come from?

Sayaka was still lost in her own misery, clueless to the world around her. She supposed she should do something. Sayaka was her only friend, after all. The girl didn't even look at her when she sat next to her; Kyoko felt another surge of anger, and it took her a few seconds to pin down the source: she was hurt that Sayaka valued that boy more than her. Kyoko was thrown off by how possessive she felt towards Sayaka; now that she knew what was causing the feeling, there was no denying that she was jealous.

* * *

She had figured it out at last. She hadn't really been giving it much active thought; she was just sitting in the abandoned church, leaning against the altar and eating from a bento box when the revelation had just clicked in her mind. She had a crush on Sayaka. This news didn't startle her. Kyoko had never given much thought to a relationship, and hadn't felt any interest towards anyone before, male or female. She hadn't even had any sexual fantasies. Up until now, she had taken it for granted that that was a part of life that was closed off to her, and she didn't care anyway. The knowledge that she _was_ interested in someone, and furthermore that she might be gay, didn't surprise or bother her-she did what she wanted, when she wanted, and didn't give a fuck what other people thought. Why should she second guess herself over this?

It did raise a different problem, though. Kyoko had no idea how Sayaka would respond, especially since she still pining after her boy crush. She had an unexpected and unwelcome insight into Sayaka's situation with the violin player.

Kyoko gritted her teeth and pressed her palms against her forehead. She wasn't used to feeling indecisive; she always knew what she wanted, and she took it. Not really an option here. Kyoko snorted. This was bullshit. What did she have to worry about? She lived for herself, didn't care what other people thought.

She jumped a foot in the air when Sayaka's voice intruded on her thoughts, cracking her head painfully on the edge of the church's altar. She must have sent a stream of curses through the mental link, because Sayaka responded with confused inqueries. Eyes watering, Kyoko brushed them off and asked what she wanted, trying hard not to let any of her previous ponderings intrude on their mental conversation.

Sayaka got right to the point. _Meet me outside. Homura has found a nest of demons that she thinks will require all of us to clear out._

Kyoko's attention sharpened immediately. Perfect timing. This should take her mind off of its uncomfortable meanderings. She was in the mood to kill something.

* * *

Kyoko was doubled over, hands on her knees, trying to regain her breath. Blood dripped steadily onto the pavement from her hand, the wound in her shoulder starting to close but still gushing freely. She barely felt the pain; she felt _exhilarated_. The Magical Girl looked around at the others, each in varying states of disarray but none seriously injured.

It had finally happened, a whole three weeks after they had first met to discuss joining forces. A group of demons threatening the downtown area, each one powerful enough to present a real threat to any of the Magical Girls on their own.

What a fight that had been.

Her eyes fell on Sayaka, nearly as bloodstained as she was. Sayaka, who had fought admirably and had guarded her back several times. Kyoko's heart lurched. Adrenaline was still pumping through her veins and it made her want to do something wild, reckless.

What the hell. She wasn't the type to make a romantic confession of love. She was the type to walk up to Sayaka, throw her arms around her and kiss her.

It was a good sign that Sayaka didn't immediately shove Kyoko off…or try to gut her with her sword. She was only dimly aware that Homura and Mami had fallen dead silent behind her, but her focus was on Sayaka as she broke the kiss.

The blue haired Magical Girl was standing stock still with such an expression of shock and confusion frozen on her face that Kyoko would have found it comical under different circumstances. Blood surged through Sayaka's cheeks until her whole face was bright red.

This wasn't quite the reaction Kyoko was hoping to get.

Once the flurry of panicked, half-formed thoughts died down, her first idea was to hit Kyoko, but she couldn't bring herself to. Her second was to run, but she suddenly felt the fatigue from the battle weighing down her limbs. That left two options: talk to Kyoko, or refuse her, tell her to get the hell away from her.

Sayaka cleared her throat and looked over Kyoko's shoulder at Homura and Mami. "We'll catch up to you in a bit." There was a dangerous undertone in her voice that made it clear that there was no room for disagreement. Mami, still looking stunned and somewhat embarrassed at having witnessed such a thing, hurried off immediately with a murmured response. Homura, whose deadpan expression hadn't changed once, gave Sayaka an inscrutable look before following the blonde girl.

Sayaka found herself unwilling to look at Kyoko now that they were alone. She could feel her cheeks burning. After the seconds dragged painfully by, Sayaka finally stared Kyoko dead in the eye, and was a little surprised to find that she looked…vulnerable. The sight softened her voice when she asked, "What was _that_?"

Kyoko shrugged, trying to play it off casually. Now that the heady rush of battle was dissipating, she was regretting her rashness more and more by the second. This was not going the way she wanted it to. Still, she refused to back down, here or anywhere else. She was committed now and would see it through. But she was no more suited to a romantic declaration of love now than she had been five minutes ago. So she kept it simple and short.

"I like ya. Thought that was obvious."

Sayaka just stared at her in response.

"But if you aren't interested," Kyoko continued with an air of supreme indifference that was ruined by a slight quaver in her voice, "my bad. Forget about this whole thing and we'll go back to just hunting demons, same as before." Her glance at Sayaka's face after these words was a little too quick.

Sayaka hesitated. She definitely couldn't justify hitting Kyoko after hearing this confession, but running away still seemed like a good idea. Something in the redhead's demeanor made her stay, told her to handle the situation carefully; though the surly redhead did her best to act normal, Sayaka had never seen her so vulnerable.

Kyoko had had enough. She pulled her spear out of the ground and rested it on her shoulder, turning to go. "Thought so. Just pretend this never happened, would ya?" She was relieved to hear that her voice sounded normal even as her heart felt like lead.

"Wait!" Sayaka was surprised by the urgency in her own voice. Kyoko froze. Great. Now she had to say something. Sayaka cleared her throat and ran her hands through her hair nervously, cringing as she remembered the copious amounts of blood on her hands. "So…you're saying that…what? You want to date me, or something?"

Kyoko gritted her teeth. This was exactly the kind of conversation she had hoped to avoid by just kissing Sayaka. Seemed kind of stupid, in hindsight. Well, there was no helping it now. "Yeah, I guess so."

The blue haired girl snorted impatiently. "Yes or no?" she asked with an abrupt return to her abrasive nature.

She finally turned to look at Sayaka again. Why was it so difficult to say this one word? "…Yes."

Sayaka forced a smile. "You could have just asked." Her comment won her an irritable shrug from the redhead and no other response. She took a deep breath. "I'm not sure I feel the same way about you, but…" She scratched her head nervously, looking away from Kyoko for the first time, and Kyoko's breath hitched. "We could go on a date…and see where things go from there?

"Because…" Sayaka stepped closer to her and took her hand. Kyoko stared down at their joined hands and back up at Sayaka. "I kind of like you, too."

* * *

The moment they stepped through the door into Homura's apartment, Kyoko slipped her hand into Sayaka's in plain view of the other two Magical Girls, a half smug, half defiant look on her face. Sayaka tensed for only a moment before giving Kyoko's hand a nervous squeeze. Mami didn't miss a beat in greeting them and starting a discussion on patrol patterns and the likeliest spots for demonic infestation. Homura, on the other hand, fixed her cold gaze directly on Kyoko's, making her almost shudder. Was that…jealousy? She didn't think that Homura was interested in Sayaka. But a moment later, Homura had joined in the conversation with Mami and Sayaka, and Kyoko wondered if she had misread the taciturn girl's expression.

She had found an answer, after all. In hindsight, it was funny that she hadn't considered it earlier, but earlier she hadn't had any notion that she might be interested in dating a girl. With that door opened, the idea of dating a fellow Magical Girl seemed like the perfect solution. She wasn't really human anymore—neither was Kyoko. She could die at any time and an ordinary person would never be able to know what she was going through—Kyoko already knew. Becoming a Magical Girl didn't doom them to loneliness. It just restricted where they could find companionship.

When Hitomi invited Sayaka to lunch in their favorite coffee shop and passed an uncomfortably quiet fifteen minutes before telling her that she had a crush on Kyosuke, Sayaka was a little surprised that it didn't hurt as much as she would have expected. It still stung; hell, it felt like someone had reached into her chest and squeezed her heart.

But…

But she could handle it. It only made sense. She couldn't be with Kyosuke now. Kyosuke deserved to have someone with him who could make him happy. Sayaka couldn't think of a better candidate than her childhood friend. So when she stood up and Hitomi's expression became apprehensive, she only hugged her friend, trying to discreetly wipe away a few tears, and wished her the best.

* * *

It was already half past seven. She was going to be late if she didn't hurry.

She couldn't pretend that she wasn't nervous. Somehow, facing an overwhelming force of demons and being knocked through a brick wall didn't seem nearly as frightening as this. Sayaka smoothed her skirt out with her hands for the umpteenth time and tried to regain her composure.

There she was. A red mane of hair bobbing through the crowd towards her. A stick of pocky in her mouth (even though they were going to dinner) and a fang-filled grin for her. Kyoko broke through the bustling people on the sidewalk and took Sayaka's hand, a blush starting to grow on her face and making her look uncharacteristically sweet. Sayaka hesitated for a moment before giving Kyoko a quick peck on the cheek, deepening her date's blush and adding one to her own face.

With equally embarrassed grins and a bit of nervous laughter, the two made their way hand-in-hand through the crowds to what they both hoped would be the first date of many.

* * *

A/N: This chapter was pretty hard to write, and I'm still not completely satisfied with it. I hope it serves its purpose well enough. This is the problem I always have with writing; I have all these ideas for where I want the story to go, I just don't know how to get it to progress naturally through those ideas. When the writing gets difficult, I start procrastinating for a while—say, two years—and the story withers away. This chapter was so difficult in part because Kyoko and Sayaka have a tricky dynamic; they're like one of those couples that argues all the time over anything, but deep down they really care about each other. The trouble is writing believable arguments that wouldn't get so severe that they would cause a rift between them. Neither is the type to back down from anything, ever, so I also couldn't have one of them drive the other away and then go after them to make up and grow closer. With Kyoko and Sayaka, it's all or nothing. Another problem was having enough scenes to move the story along, but without them feeling like a bunch of darts thrown against a board. I tried to keep the story from feeling disjointed, but I don't think I completely succeeded there. This is the best I have, for now-if I keep nitpicking at this chapter, it will never go up, and I really want to get this story moving along.

Like I said in my note in the prelude, this story is going to be pretty bare bones, just focusing on the most important parts of their relationship as it develops, which is why it jumps around so much. Hopefully that doesn't wreck the narrative. I hope to get the third and final chapter finished soon so I can finally get this story to the scene that was the original idea for the whole thing.


	4. Chapter 3: Tragedy

"How many?"

"Looks like…twelve."

"Six each?"

"You wish. I'll take those eight, you can get the other four."

Sayaka lightly swatted the back of Kyoko's head. "Six each," she repeated with a wry smile.

Kyoko sighed in mock exasperation. "Fine, fine. I'll be there to bail ya out when you get in over your head." Before Sayaka could retort, she stepped off the roof and kicked off of an air conditioning unit to launch straight at the demons.

She only took a moment to glance at her Soul Gem before following her hunting partner. It was starting to dim. Little spots of black were nesting in the bottom. Nothing to worry about yet, but she was glad that this group of demons had showed up; she needed Grief Seeds.

Her partner—girlfriend, she corrected herself with a brief, accompanying feeling of giddiness—was already tearing into the abominations. If she didn't hurry, she really would be stuck with just four.

* * *

It was a beautiful day to spend outside…and she was stuck in her room, trying to get caught up on her schoolwork. The demands of being a Magical Girl were causing trouble for her academic career and her social life. It had been over a week since she had seen Hitomi outside of class…but since Hitomi spent all of her free time with Kyousuke now, Sayaka didn't really mind. She told herself she was okay with it, but it still hurt a little.

The homework just kept piling up until she was in danger of failing her classes. So on this nice spring day, she sat huddled in her room, trying to cram more useless knowledge into her brain. Even now, she was having trouble getting her work finished. She blamed Kyoko. After all, it was a little hard to focus when her girlfriend's head was resting on her lap and she kept taking breaks from her PSP to tell Sayaka that she was boring and they should go out. Sayaka kept responding, with thinning patience, that Kyoko didn't have to stay there, but Kyoko just grinned and said that she knew Sayaka would be lonely without her.

Sayaka was torn between laughing and smothering Kyoko with a pillow. Not that Kyoko was having a great time, either. Every time Sayaka heard footsteps in the hallway, she shoved Kyoko off of her lap in a most undignified manner and hurriedly resumed scribbling in her notebook. Her nerves were, so far, unfounded, but she didn't want to have to explain what she was doing with a strange girl's head on her crotch if her mom popped into her room. Kyoko swore vehemently and gave her a death glare each time it happened, but that didn't stop her from immediately resuming her pose when the coast was clear.

At last, many hours later, she closed her books and threw her pen down in triumph. Kyoko opened her eyes.

"You done?" She sprang to her feet and pulled Sayaka up with her. "All right, let's go!"

Sayaka pulled her arm out of Kyoko's grasp. "Go where? It's getting too late to go out; my mom would demand to know where we're going and when I'm going to be back."

Rather than express disappointment or irritation, Kyoko leaned in close to Sayaka with a mischievous grin, slipping her arms around Sayaka's waist to hold her against her body. "Fine. If you don't want to go out and have fun, we can stay here and have some fun." She waggled her eyebrows in an obnoxious yet comically endearing way.

Sayaka shoved her away. "All right, let's go."

* * *

Three months. It had been three months since Kyoko first arrived in Mitakihara…and just over one since they had started dating. The idea had taken some getting used to, for both of them—until they started dating, neither of them had had much inclination to think romantic thoughts of other girls—and the infrequent kisses had been awkward for a week or two, but they were becoming more and more comfortable with each other. Kyoko barely had any shame to begin with, so she got over the embarrassment more quickly than Sayaka, and had started to tease Sayaka for her reluctance.

Life was good. She had plenty to eat (usually paid for by Sayaka, because Kyoko never had much money and Sayaka had some bug up her ass about stealing), she had lots of challenging prey to keep her blood pumping and her Soul Gem clear…and she had Sayaka. Her Sayaka, all to herself.

It took some getting used to, not being alone anymore. It wasn't like Sayaka was tying her down, but she wasn't quite as free as she used to be. Before, she could go anywhere she wanted, anytime she wanted, and didn't have worry about what anyone else thought. Now she had places to be at certain times, and had to mind her behavior (at least, a little…sometimes). There was no getting around the fact that she didn't have complete independence anymore.

But she wouldn't trade this for anything.

* * *

The hammering of her heart made her painfully aware of how nervous she was, which drowned out the actual pain of her injuries. She worried for a moment about getting blood on Sayaka's bed, but her blue-haired girlfriend didn't seem to pay it any mind, so neither would she.

Like their first kiss, it was spontaneous and initiated by post-battle adrenaline. Unlike their kiss, this had been started by Sayaka.

Another routine night of patrolling the city and enjoying each other's company had turned ugly when they were ambushed by demons. They were getting cleverer. But Kyoko and Sayaka had been fighting together for nearly four months now, and their styles had unconsciously molded to fit together, so that when they went into battle they moved together as one seamless unit. Even so, it had been a fierce battle and they had taken their share of damage.

They weren't far from Sayaka's home, so they headed there to clean up and rest for a bit, creeping quietly in so as not to wake her parents. When they were safely in her room, Sayaka had turned to Kyoko with a flush in her cheeks and an adoring look on her face. She hadn't planned on this when she invited Kyoko back to her place, but all she could think about at that moment was how much she loved the redhead and how she wanted more than anything to be with her.

Sayaka had all but jumped into Kyoko's arms, and after her shock had given way to desire they had staggered to Sayaka's bed, already leaving a trail of hastily shed clothes behind them, trying hard not to make enough noise to wake her parents but not really caring if they did.

They were clumsy, and awkward, and embarrassed at first, but they didn't let that ruin it. All that mattered at that moment was expressing all of the things that they had trouble saying openly. All that mattered was holding tight to each other and never letting go.

* * *

Sayaka nestled against Kyoko's side, head tucked under her chin. "I love you," she whispered.

Kyoko hesitated, sudden anxiety seizing her body. Then, with conviction,

"I love you, too."

* * *

Kyoko never talked about her past, so Sayaka didn't press her about it, even though she sometimes burned with curiosity. She clearly didn't have a home to go to, and more than once Sayaka had been awoken by Kyoko's restless tossing and turning. She figured that there was something dark and painful in her past; all the more reason not to pressure her about talking.

When she looked back, she dearly wished that some other occasion had loosened Kyoko's tongue. Sayaka felt burning shame twist in her stomach when she remembered the circumstances surrounding Kyoko's confession.

They had been arguing again. Their relationship had diminished their arguments, but not ended them. Kyoko had started this one. Sayaka had run headlong into a fight that was more than she could handle; she didn't have time to call for backup because of the prey huddled in the alley: a young man and woman, food for the demons to leech off of, succubus-like, until they were dead. It was a close call: if Homura hadn't been close enough to swoop to Sayaka's aid, she would probably be dead now. When Kyoko found out, she had exploded at her, calling her an idiot for throwing her life on the line for a couple of nobodies.

And so the shouting match began. Sayaka criticized Kyoko's lack of compassion, Kyoko shot back with barbs about Sayaka's bleeding heart and naiveté. Sayaka was so angry that she shouted that Kyoko didn't care about anybody but herself. She knew as soon as the words left her mouth that she had gone too far, but Kyoko only said, "I care about you," and walked out, leaving Sayaka skewered by guilt and seeing, over and over again, the pained look in Kyoko's eyes.

When her girlfriend had come by her apartment the next day, Sayaka was worried sick that she was going to break up with her. But Kyoko had only asked her through their telepathic link to come by the church later and left. When she arrived, Kyoko, abnormally withdrawn, tossed her an apple and beckoned for her to sit down.

Then she told her everything. About her father's church. About her wish. The pain that followed. The fire. The screams. And the pledge she made to never use her powers for anyone but herself. Kyoko didn't say it, but Sayaka realized that she'd already broken that vow on her behalf several times. Not knowing what to say, and feeling worse than ever for her rash words, Sayaka had simply wrapped her arms tightly around Kyoko and held her in silence until the sun began to set. As the dim light in the church changed to a dusky glow, Kyoko had gently set her hands on Sayaka's shoulders and eased her away so she could look at her eye-to-eye.

"Don't make me lose you, too," was all she said before pulling her into a kiss.

* * *

'Why am I fighting?'

It was becoming more than she could handle. Kyoko had finally relented and joined Mami and Homura to hunt regularly; the choice was out of necessity, not a change of heart. The demons were becoming more powerful, more plentiful, and banded together so well that none of the girls had seen a loner in weeks. They weren't sure what was causing the population spike, but its effects could be seen every day on the news. Murder and suicide rates had increased dramatically, and there were more and more unexplained deaths that baffled coroners and were simply attributed to sudden unexplained death syndrome.

Nothing Sayaka did was stopping it. She was fighting a losing battle. Fortunately, the summer vacation had started, so she didn't have to worry about falling behind in school, but she was exhausted. There was too much to do, too many demons, and every time she took a break or went out with Kyoko, somewhere in the city people were falling victim to demon attacks.

The only upshot was that they had a mountain of Grief Seeds to use, and they needed them. Even Kyoko no longer expressed concern about which Grief Seeds belonged to her.

Sayaka's Soul Gem was almost done now. She picked it up when the black mist had finished draining into the tiny cubes.

Little motes of inky blackness drifted lazily through the Gem. 'That isn't right…these Seeds shouldn't be full already.' Sayaka swept them aside for Kyubey to collect later and went across her room to get more from her cache. Sitting cross-legged on her floor, she scattered the Seeds in a circle and placed her Soul Gem in the center.

Nothing happened.

* * *

Sayaka stared at her Soul Gem with growing agitation. Though a cause for concern, it hadn't been so bad at first. There were just a few spots that wouldn't be dispelled. But as the weeks went by, the amount of persistent darkness increased and the amount that siphoned off into the Seeds diminished.

She didn't know how much longer she could keep it from Kyoko.

Kyoko…

At least she still had her fiery, redheaded tomboy. The one thing that kept her sane through the mounting hardships. Kyoko was the only person still capable of making her laugh, and she never felt more at peace than when she fell asleep in Kyoko's arms (when they were able to sneak off together or Kyoko could slip into her room unnoticed—Sayaka's parents still didn't know about them).

She barely felt sad about Kyousuke, these days. Deep in her heart, there would always be a part of her that loved him, but that part had stopped hurting so badly, the pain smothered by love from Kyoko. Only a few weeks after Hitomi and Kyousuke had started dating, Sayaka had been able to spend time with both of them and behave normally. She was glad that it hadn't cost her her friendship with Hitomi. And Hitomi had taken it fairly well when Sayaka came out to her about Kyoko; she had been worried, because she knew that Hitomi was uncomfortable with the idea of romance between girls, but she couldn't keep it a secret any longer and if she hadn't told someone she would have cracked under the pressure.

It had been a small shock when Sayaka realized that, if it came down to a choice between the two, if at any time Kyousuke would come to her and ask her to be his girlfriend, she would choose Kyoko over him. She knew then that she was not the same girl that had made a contract with Kyubey.

Sayaka squeezed her Soul Gem until the delicate metal filigree around the jewel cut into her palm. This had to end sometime. She would get better. She wouldn't let Kyoko know, because she would just worry uselessly, but she would get better. She just needed to fight harder, kill more demons, and then she would be able to purify her Soul Gem again.

* * *

'I don't care anymore.'

Sayaka was dying. She had come to realize this when her Soul Gem continued to darken. She supposed she should be terrified. But what did it matter? All she was good for was fighting demons, but why bother? Did the people of this city deserve her blood? Ingrates, bigots, idiots, treating each other with cruelty and contempt. She had become more aware than ever of just how ugly people could be, all because she fought so hard to save them. Because her duties demanded that she pay strict attention to the city and its inhabitants.

And then there were people like Kyoko's father.

The mere thought of that bastard, of what he had done to Kyoko, made her blood boil and her mind cloud with hate. How many more like him in Mitakihara? In the world? Why was she fighting for them? And if she wasn't going to fight, then she was useless.

As for Kyoko…

…she'd be better off without her. She wouldn't have to worry anymore, or put herself in danger for Sayaka's sake ever again. The more Sayaka thought back, the more convinced she became that she wasn't good enough for Kyoko. She loved Kyoko now more than anything, but she knew that it was selfish to continue clinging to her girlfriend, dragging her down with her so that Sayaka could feel a little better for a little longer.

Footsteps drew her gaze from the ground to the tall girl making her way swiftly towards her. Green hoodie, red hair…she had hoped that she wouldn't be here for this, but Sayaka couldn't deny that she was glad to see her one last time.

"Hey, Kyo…"

The sound of her voice froze Kyoko's blood. She had noticed Sayaka's deepening depression over the last few weeks, but had no idea what to do about it. Nothing she said to Sayaka made any difference. In the last few days, Sayaka had started avoiding her. But it was the sound of her voice here, now, that plunged an icy dagger into her heart. Flat, lifeless. A voice she had heard before. The voice of someone who had given up.

Sayaka didn't say anything when Kyoko ran to her side and grabbed her shoulders. She didn't respond to any of her questions. Instead, she held her clenched fist out, too weary to open it and see what lay beneath. Kyoko placed trembling fingers on her steady ones and slowly pried them open.

The Soul Gem sat like a chunk of onyx in her palm, the blackness broken occasionally by a few spots of light that floated to the top like bubbles. Too late. She was out of time.

Kyoko's cry of dismay barely reached her. Her ears didn't seem to work properly anymore. So tired…she'd just lie down for a bit.

Sayaka felt something on her hand and looked over at it. Kyoko was clutching her hand in both of hers, fear and despair written across her face. That was sweet of her…Sayaka managed to summon up a smile for her girlfriend.

"I'm sorry."

Kyoko's hand felt so warm and comforting in hers, but every other part of her was cold. She could feel something chaotic, something _other_ just beneath her skin. She was fading, and neither the pleading words from Kyoko's lips nor the tears on her face could stop that.

There was a flash of light above her, so bright but not painful to look at. Kyoko wasn't leaning over her anymore; someone else was. She was pretty, so pretty, and smiling in such a heartfelt way that Sayaka couldn't help but feel her heart lift and she smiled back. The girl reached towards her Soul Gem, and somehow Sayaka wasn't surprised when black despair seeped out of it and disappeared into her savior.

But when the girl—Goddess, she thought drowsily—touched her Soul Gem…Sayaka remembered. Remembered everything. No…no, that wasn't right. Not everything. The memories that flooded into her head felt hazy, distant; like a half-remembered dream, most of the details slipped away the more she tried to seize them. But she remembered enough. She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes as she saw glimpses of all the times she and Kyoko fought, sometimes one actually killing the other—and she felt the tears spill over and cascade down her face when she remembered what Kyoko had done for her those times when Sayaka had lost herself.

'Being by yourself must be very lonely. Don't worry, I'll stay with you, Sayaka.'

Through the haze of tears, she saw Madoka lean closer and felt strong arms wrap around her. "It's okay," she whispered, and her warmth and care drove back the pain again. "You'll see her again."

Sayaka stared at her best friend (how could she have forgotten her?) in surprise. Madoka only gave her a knowing smile.

"It's time to go, Sayaka. But you will see her again."

Only dimly aware that the surroundings had long since faded into a peaceful white nothing, Sayaka took Madoka's hand and vanished into the Law of Cycles.

* * *

The place where Sayaka had been looked mundane, empty—no sign but the tears on the concrete that some great tragedy had occurred there. The red haired girl's shoulders shook as the loss tore at her heart and drew choked sobs from her throat. She hadn't cried since the day her father…since the day it happened. The world was hard and cruel and it crushed those who showed weakness, so she had always made herself be strong…but she couldn't stop the tears now.

When she couldn't cry anymore, when numbness had taken over, she stood and wiped her face on her bare arm, wishing for once that her Magical Girl outfit had sleeves. That's when she felt a light hand on her arm and Kyoko tensed, ready to lash out, to hurt whoever had seen her being weak and pathetic. But the calm, even monotone that could only belong to Homura stopped her.

"You will see her again."

It was the first time Kyoko had seen any appreciable amount of emotion in the raven haired girl's violet eyes. There was something melancholy, wistful almost, but also…was it sympathy?

"We'll see them again, one day," she said as she turned to leave, flipping her hair casually over her shoulder.

…them?

* * *

It was only a matter of time before her Soul Gem blackened and she ran out of Grief Seeds to cleanse it. She wasn't afraid. She wasn't even worried. A year had passed, but she never forgot Homura's words: 'You will see her again.' Sometimes she felt like just letting go and making that final jump now.

But Sayaka wouldn't have liked that. She had taught Kyoko to believe in stupid ideals like justice and heroism again. There were still demons preying on the weak, causing suicide rates to spike. As long as she was alive, she would fight. And life wasn't without joy. Homura had opened up to her more after Sayaka had gone. Kyoko supposed that the somber girl felt some sympathy for her, but she didn't know why. Between Homura and Mami, she had companionship to help her through the rough times. They weren't so bad, really. Still a little uptight, but better than being alone.

But she never forgot, never stopped thinking about the day it would happen.

One day…

'I'll see you again.'

* * *

A/N: So, here it is. The third and final chapter. But the story isn't quite over. Keep your eyes peeled, in the next day or two there will be a brief epilogue.

This chapter came much more easily to me than the last one, though I still had trouble in some areas. I think my biggest concern here is the tonal shift between the beginning of the chapter, with the romance and happiness of Kyoko and Sayaka, and the sudden change to gloom that happens about halfway through. I considered breaking this into two chapters to decrease the chance of whiplash from the shift in mood, but I wanted to keep this a three chapter story, and I also wanted to be done with this. It's about time I finished something I started.

As for Sayaka, this story was created because of her, and because of this last scene. I wanted to write a story about her being taken by Madoka and leaving Kyoko behind, so with that ending in mind, I created the rest of the story around it. It was a struggle to come up with a reason for her to lose herself despite being happy with Kyoko; after thinking about it for a while, I decided that despair and self-loathing were traits that Sayaka seemed prone to, given her behavior in the original anime, and it wasn't hard to come up with events to create both in her.

To those of you haven't dealt with or seen someone close to you deal with severe depression, this is pretty much what it looks like. And no matter what you say to the person, it isn't enough to lift them out of it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story, and I am thinking of writing some KyoSaya oneshots after this; if I do, they won't be Tragedy oriented.

Oh, and Sudden Unexplained Death Syndrome is a real thing. I guess it's the adult version of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. SIDS and SUDS. Because the people who name these things aren't very creative.

EDIT: This last part was originally going to be the epilogue, but I realized that it isn't really epilogue material and would be better suited to capping the story off. Hopefully this makes the ending a little tidier and slightly less depressing. I basically wanted to leave Kyoko in the same situation that Homura was in at the end of the anime.


	5. Epilogue

Awareness grew slowly, like she was awakening from a deep sleep that she was half-heartedly trying to cling to. So it was a long time before certain facts made themselves known to her. She felt comfortably warm, which soon led to the realization that she was naked. This startled her into pulling herself out from the sleep-like haze that had been filling her mind, and the world around her came into view. She hadn't opened her eyes…she couldn't recall whether they had been opened or closed, come to think of it. It was more like the world just appeared from darkness when she thought about it.

And as with waking from a deep sleep, after the awareness of her surroundings returned, so did memory.

* * *

She had shut out the pain entirely so that she could keep fighting. Kyubey had always warned against that, saying that it would make her reactions slower, but there was no alternative. Her wounds were too numerous to count; if she hadn't muted the connection between her Soul Gem and her body's nerves, she would have been crippled by pain.

Homura had one of Mami's arms around her shoulder and was helping her stand. Actually, it looked like she was the only thing holding the blonde girl up. Kyoko wasn't even sure if she was still alive. Either way, she was out of the fight, and Homura, who was in worse shape than Kyoko, couldn't fight and protect their friend. Probably couldn't do much even if she abandoned Mami. A look of understanding passed between them, and Homura hauled Mami over her shoulder and was gone.

Just her now. She wasn't worried. Sooner or later, this had to happen. No Magical Girl lives to old age.

This wouldn't have worked if the archdemon was at full strength, but Kyoko, Mami and Homura had given as good as they got. Homura had a theory that this abomination had been created from dozens of regular demons melding their essences into one nigh-indestructible form. Even three veteran Magical Girls hadn't been able to beat it in a straight-up fight…but they had definitely hurt it.

Kyoko looked around. A lot of damage had been done to this part of Mitakihara. At least most of the citizens had been evacuated earlier. She smiled to herself. Wouldn't Sayaka be proud of her, giving her life to save the city?

She pulled the jeweled pin from her hair and tossed it almost casually into the air. Before it could hit the ground, the point of her spear had connected with the Gem and everything went white.

* * *

Kyoko wondered idly if she had indeed succeeded in finishing off the archdemon. Well, she had done all she could; she had no regrets. But…what now? She'd probably go insane if she had to spend eternity floating in this blank landscape.

As if in answer to her ponderings (and maybe it was), a girl appeared before her. She looked younger than Kyoko, but there was something about her that made Kyoko feel very small before her. And yet, her smile was so charming, so comforting, that when she reached for Kyoko's hand, the redhead gave it to her without hesitation.

"She's waiting for you," Madoka informed her with a sympathetic smile.

She hadn't cried like this since the day Sayaka had died. This time, though, there were strong arms encircling her, providing her with the security and love she needed.

"I never stopped thinking about you."

Sayaka smiled and kissed her forehead. "I know. I'm so sorry, Kyo…"

Kyoko tried to regain her composure, but it was too much, all of the heartache and pain, and now seeing her again so suddenly…she couldn't stop crying. Sayaka just held her, like she had done in the church the day Kyoko told her about her family.

Finally she had cried herself out and sat shaking and hiccupping like a little child. Sayaka never stopped smiling at her, stroking her hair. When she had some measure of control again, Kyoko punched Sayaka lightly on the shoulder.

"Idiot. I told you not to make me lose you."

Sayaka's smile turned sad for a moment. "I know," she repeated. "I wish I had been able to stay. I didn't—"

Kyoko stopped her apology with a kiss. She poured all of her love and need into the simple gesture, and felt Sayaka reciprocate.

Kyoko lay her head on her love's shoulder and felt the tension and hurt slowly drain into the calm white nothing of their surroundings. "Don't leave me again."

"Never."

* * *

Fin


End file.
